Writer Craft Podcast

PATREON:

Thanks to Jo Bartlett for increasing their patronage tier. We so appreciate you. And they've chosen the benefits tier that includes retreat tickets and monthly coaching, so WELCOME. We'll have so much fun.

ALSO, Welcome to new patrons Nora Coutis Hanson, Michelle Coleman, and Mason Tufts.

And Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Comments/email from listeners: Great episode! :) Exactly what I needed. (From Jo Bartlett, a patron, re: Ep128: Accountability Buddies and Masterminds.)

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is now, so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 16th.

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• speaking at conference this weekend
• Becca Syme's 30 for 30 this month
• Nanowrimo in November (Erick is too!)

• Erick:
• working on little things; short stories, etc
• mostly moved in; need to unpack now

Just finished:

I'M READING: beta read

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

• Erick's Reading:
• BearTown by Fredrick Backman
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles graphic novels series

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (brilliant with characterization, story within a story, three sisters)

• Show Notes:

Mary Carroll Moore is a bestselling and award-winning author of 14 books in 3 genres, including thePEN/Faulkner-and Lambda Literary Awards nominated young adult novel, Qualities of Light, the prequel to A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue. She received her MFA from Goddard College and has taught throughout the US and abroad at various writing schools and universities since 1998. Her writing-craft book, Your Book Starts Here, won the New Hampshire Literary Awards "Reader's Choice" award. Before moving into fiction, she worked as a chef, a cooking-school owner, a cookbook author, and a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Her first cookbook won a JuliaChild/IACP award. Over two hundred of her essays, stories, and articles have appeared in magazines and literary journals. She lives in New Hampshire with her family.

Storyboarding for Novelists idea.

Snippets = islands; Work on islands for 30K words, then create structure map, W method (Joseph Campbell)

Warm up is first four chapters (Mary)

Title exercise: find fifteen titles on the internet that you like, and why you like them, and then make your own list of fifteen titles.

Kirkus Review is paid promotion.

Independent Book Review

Publisher's Weekly

Book List

Newsletter on Substack.

IG Blogger tour. (Bookstagrammer)

Google Bookstagram Tour Guide

Cover Reveal.

Everything is online now.

Podcast and social media.

Preorder October 24th; audio book out now.

Literary Thriller.

Go-to meal: curry, Thai food, Indian food, southeast Asian

Julia Cameron's Walking in This World

Marycarrollmoore.com

#1000wordsofsummer (Jami Attenberg)

Next Episode: How to Use Your Backlist

Announcements:

• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

I'M READING: beta read

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Erick's Reading:

BearTown by Fredrick Backman

Show Notes:

A hook grabs attention and pulls a reader in. It can also be the premise or setting. Should be on the first page--third page at the maximum. It's the story promise, and causes a curiosity to know more and turn the pages.

First chapter should have many questions raised, but answer only one (or two?) at end of the first chapter. (Tex Thompson)

First lines vs hook: (The 1st line could be considered the beginning of the hook.)

Write one true sentence and then another... (Hemingway)

Start with the best line.

What does my book have? How quickly, succinctly, mysteriously can I start my novel?

Film writing: Why now? Why this scene now?

What are the elements of the story that are different? Know what's unique about your story.

First line file [put in brackets]

Hook file (story ideas)

What If? = premise

Know the tropes of your genre so that you can subvert it and put a unique spin on it.

Either have to be first, different, or best. (In business.)

As a writer, there are plenty of options to be different.

Titles: either first idea or the 50th.

Next Episode: How to Use Your Backlist

Announcements:

• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• floors and bee-sting.

• Erick:
• rewrite is done
• mostly moved in; need to unpack now

Just finished:

I'M READING: beta read

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Erick's Reading:

• In the Woods by Tana French

Show Notes:

Writing conference--

Networking, meeting new author friends

Education

Conference Cycle

In person = accidental knowledge

Volunteering at conferences, see things behind the scene (the business of conferences/writing industry)

"Easy" to pitch to:

Cedar Mills Writers Group (Conference) Beaverton, Oregon;

North Woods Writers Conference, Minnesota

Strategy: pick a region, go state by state in Google Search + writing conference; make a spreadsheet.

Find the conference director: contact with query letter; ask them for help getting into the circuit=email exchange.

Even a no is okay.

"What does your audience need?"

Conferences gain momentum: idea to date on calendar to push through to the end.

Pitch in January for late summer conferences;

Three month hangover after conferences;

They might call you back after speaking once.

Payment: from none (line item on resume), to honorarium, to travel and lodging. Tax deductible trip. Conference attendance thrown in.

After awhile, start weighing which ones are more lucrative and only pitch to them.

Every conference wants the info a different way: if using Submittable, you can copy and paste your answers in; "If you need a panel seat filled, I'll fill it."

Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)
• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

I'M READING:

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Erick's Reading:

In the Woods by Tana French

Parable of the Sower (Zach Jeffries)

Show Notes:

Zachary Jeffries hails from the southeastern United Sates where his first jobs were lawn mower, pizza cook, and stable hand. His overactive imagination and love for reading led to to various routes of storytelling through improv, screenwriting, and the Chicago theatre scene. After working under a myriad of names, Jeffries now writes contemporary Young Adult fantasy brimming with tropes, humor, and action. Along with The Unseen Curse and Angel of Fate, Jeffries also publishes middle grade books under the pen name Z Jeffries. You can read books from either pseudonym by signing up at ZJeffries.com.

Romantasy: high fantasy with romantic story

K-letics says paranormal romance trending down; fantasy romance trending up

Host TikTok Live every week, Mondays @JeffriesBooks 9:30 p.m. Eastern

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Holly Black books

Writers group started every meeting with a ten minute writing prompt. Didn't like it. Didn't want to put words into something else besides WIP. Caused self-doubt. Moved. Started new group. New prompts: seed for current WIP--fits any projects. Look at your WIP with new lens. Started giving Nanowrimo talks with writing prompts.

#Zprompt (TikTok) neurodivergent folks appreciate these prompts because of hyper focus engaging in a traditional writing prompt.

Zach's newsletters have writing prompts at the end.

Book is based on prompts per story elements.

Can use the book prompts for drafting or editing.

Sometimes you don't have writing momentum. Strategy: step back and focus on something different (character relationships; plot on auto-pilot) How the character hides a secret, for instance.

Visual media's focus of the camera is interesting.

Someone asked for THE BOOK.

Boredom is good.

Think about one aspect that is different from the movie you just watched. (CopLand fave movie.)

Neuro-divergent writer as a long-time critique partner, gives great feedback. Used autistic and ADHD beta readers for this book.

Re-organizing the ebook with hyper-links in order to make the prompts accessible throughout the book, in multiple elements. (Making it easier to jump around the book.)

Found the audience for something in an organic way.

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch (follow the idea)

Can you use this prompting to decide if a story idea has legs? If you love the story, the story prompts can help. Story development exercise at back of book. Help with outlining.

More books are coming.

Book on preorder now. (Wide.) Break Through to "The End": Practical Writing Prompts to Elevate Your Work-in-Progress Scene-by-Scene by Zach Jeffries

ZJeffries.com

Urban fantasy with sweet romance: The Unseen Curse

Angel of God's End by Zachary Jeffries (preorder)

Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)
• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.

I'M READING:

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Erick's Reading:

• Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, July-August 2023 "Bridges"

Show Notes:

Mastermind groups, accountability groups, networking groups all benefit you because you have community, camaraderie, hive mind--plus the added drive to finish your projects because you have to report back to the people in your group.

Creative thinking about my (Erick's) business:

The minute you know what you are doing, you've stopped growing, talking with other people keeps you curious

Next Episode: Writing Prompts for Neurodivergent People (interview)

Zachary Jeffries hails from the southeastern United Sates where his first jobs were lawn mower, pizza cook, and stable hand. His overactive imagination and love for reading led to to various routes of storytelling through improv, screenwriting, and the Chicago theatre scene. After working under a myriad of names, Jeffries now writes contemporary Young Adult fantasy brimming with tropes, humor, and action. Along with The Unseen Curse and Angel of Fate, Jeffries also publishes middle grade books under the pen name Z Jeffries. You can read books from either pseudonym by signing up at ZJeffries.com.

PATREON:

Welcome back, Jo Bartlett! And Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)

UPDATE:

• Valerie: master class at Southwest Washington Writers Conference next week,
• reflooring/packing in the next two weeks
• retreat was AWESOME; good feedback on the workshops; new novel idea!
• Erick: moving, finishing re-write with next novel, working raw (new scenes)--chaos is inspirational; Sept/Oct launch, finish short stories, write outside series, master class teaching in Alaska next month, next pitch Pike's Peak Writing Conference

I'M READING:

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

• Erick's Reading:
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss (technique of hostage negotiation and how to process conflict verbally); Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel; Camp Slaughter by Sergio Gomez

Show Notes:

Anchors: Taking a walk with my dog and exploring the neighborhood, Introverted morning time; Permission to write the idea down (Erick); reading a book on the couch under a blanket with a hot cup of something. (Valerie)

If running a business, go ahead and check emails (Erick); Valerie only looks for fires or new clients with questions.

What's the first thing you do when you come back from chaos? journaling; low expectations (soft landings), little things that take no brain power; look at the new situation to find the joy in it.

Knowing energy level. Don't do hard stuff at 50% capacity.

Soft landing the week upon reentry.

Sunday to set up the week (evening time: post weekly blog and plan for the week, and then every Thursday to check-in to make a new plan to finish the work before the weekend.

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Books:

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, and

Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen

I'M READING:

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber.

Erick's Reading:

Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)

The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

On Fire Island by Jane Rosen

Duma Key by Stephen King

The Ophelia Killer by Valerie Geary

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Show Notes:

Content: books, posts, podcast, blog, videos (inspiration, tutorials), website copy, ad copy

This is where marketing is going.

Personal videos. We buy from people we know.

Anything you can do is a viable option to connection with authors, everything requires time, effort, promoting.

Be authentic.

The time to start is now.

Get past the awkwardness.

Your audience doesn't know that you are learning in public.

Honesty is disarming. Use empathy and understanding in business. People want to help. That connects you to your audience.

Holding out the hand of perfection.

Dear World, Here's Me.

Write to Someone. (Everyone is not your core audience.)

It's not dead unless it's dead to you.

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

BOOKS:

I'M READING:

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, and Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece and I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi and At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber

Erick's Reading:

Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)

The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

On Fire Island by Jane Rosen

Duma Key by Stephen King

The Ophelia Killer by Valerie Geary

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Show Notes:

Know what your ROI is. Do the math. Are you breaking even? Are you making any money on the ad?

Book 1: loss leader, Book 2-4 can run ads

Lose money on purpose for mailing list growth.

Ads are like gambling. Only use $ you can lose.

Ads for services. Google Ads for business. (Organic traffic as well as new ad traffic.)

Cost per click (long term ads) based on criteria. 30 cents may be the norm, depending. Erick does $10/day. Looking for a lower click rate. Give google keywords. Target the right audience and decide when to run the ads. Drive down the cost per click (goal) by finding the sweet spot with the keywords--like with your books on Amazon.

Niche keywords can cross over with bigger keywords. Can start with $5/day or $2/day for a week, see how they perform and then add a keyword or change the interest, etc. Eventually they plateau.

3 or 4 hours/week at first; 3 ads just running, check every morning to see organic vs paid traffic; paying to have someone run, tweak, and report on the ads

Ask established authors. Don't hire a big firm.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Show Notes:

Jane's local bookstore: McNally Jackson, Seaport location

May release: On Fire Island On Fire Island Spotify playlist

Her first book was translated in ten languages

Sold first screenplay (optioned three times; never made the film)

Fired from own idea (reworked it 10 times)

Eliza Starts A Rumor optioned by NBC (someone else is writing T.V. show)

Nine Women One Dress (novels get made into movies faster than screenplays do); has been optioned twice.

On Fire Island was a script first and then novel.

"Novice" = when you write a screenplay and add descriptions of place and characters; that's some else's job.

Phoebe Cates (Kevin Kline's wife) is first reader

Wants to try write stage play.

One book a year, so it'll have to wait. Writing books is best thing to do during a writer's strike.

"Chat GPT didn't go to fat camp." (Favorite picket sign.)

Crafting the perfect sentence feels really good. It's fun to write a metaphor.

It's my own, as opposed to the screenplay which isn't yours anymore.

Chaos creates a distraction lets me think.

Write first rough with noise.

Editing needs quiet. (For the polish.)

Start early morning (no minutia) can do for hours. Use the clear mind.

Map out the story on notecards but then don't look at them again.

Woman's life falls apart trope (Seven Summer Weekends takes place back on Fire Island.)

Map out the story on notecards but then don't look at them again.

Woman's life falls apart trope (Seven Summer Weekends takes place back on Fire Island.)

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time. [$900 for the private ticket.]

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances and listening to A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales.

I'M READING:

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece and I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

• Erick's Reading:
• Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)
• The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Show Notes:

(Hard things for Memoirists)

• Making the truth interesting,
• thinking of/understanding that a book is a tool in the publishing industry (reaching audience) Who are they talking to? Marketing can get in the way.
• reliving, (self-care when writing hard stuff) (seek a therapist if needed for re-traumatization)
• getting it right (idea of One Truth that gets in the way); OH! It's really about ...
• separating self from the character. (In order to receive feedback.)